Indonesia could include Bali in an established travel bubble with Singapore, the government has said, and is calling on airlines to connect the two islands directly.

The government announced yesterday that it had opened a travel corridor which allows fully vaccinated Singaporeans to visit the neighboring Indonesian islands of Batam and Bintan without being quarantined. Singaporeans traveling to both islands must also present negative COVID-19 test results taken before departure.

Indonesians from Batan and Bintan wishing to travel to Singapore should still follow the latter’s COVID-19 rules and regulations.

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan, who is overseeing the handling of COVID-19 in Indonesia, said yesterday the government hoped a similar travel schedule would be established between Singapore and Bali for stimulate the tourism industry of the holiday island.

“I spoke with the Minister of Transport [Budi Karya Sumadi], we want the addition of direct flights from Singapore to Bali,” said the Prime Minister. noted.

“[If the scheme launches] we will evaluate it weekly, and if it is not beneficial, we will stop it.

The revival of international tourism in Bali has been disappointing since the program launched in October 2021. In fact, an official said that no commercial international flights have landed at Ngurah Rai airport in the three months since. the reopening of Bali to international tourists.

Before reopening, the island saw only 45 international tourists arrive in the first 10 months of 2021.

Tour operators have lamented Indonesia’s strict travel restrictions and called for exceptions to be made for tourists from Bali.

Bali welcomed 6 million tourists in 2019. The island, which depends almost entirely on the tourism industry, came to a halt when the pandemic hit.

Things started to look up towards the end of 2021, with domestic tourists arriving in large numbers to give the island’s economy a lifeline.